Review of Metropolis (1927)
Directed by Fritz Lang
The the scene is an extraordinary example of a reanimation sequence, Maria'stransformations in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) is not a revolution in film history or in the history of science fiction. Joh Fredersen has witnessed a rendezvous between his son Freder and the mysterious Maria. Early, the scientist, Rotwang, revealed to Fredersen that he had built a robot to take the place of Fredersen's late wife Hel. Fredersen has Rotwang follow Maria into the catacombs below the city and kidnap her. When she wakes up, she is trapped in a cage-like machine with diodes attached to her. This is where the scene starts. Rotwang activates the machine and Maria's ambiance and appearance are transferred to the automaton. The robot Maria awakens and is ready to reek havoc on the city of Metropolis. The idea of creating a new living thing, through use of a deceased organic body or an artificial robot body, is not a concept original to this film. The most famous example of a reanimated body is Frankenstein's monster from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. In this novel, Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates a monster from a cadaver he finds and reanimates. However, Frankenstein had no specific purpose for his monster, while Rotwang clearly intends to use the robot Maria to cause trouble in the city. Also, what sets Metropolis apart from similarly themed works is its state of the art special effects and its detailed shots. Within this scene, the audience gets a feel for Rotwang by seeing the interior of his laboratory and its various Telsa towers, tubes, chemical-filled beakers and flasks, and complicated machinery. Also, the special effects used during Maria's transformation are astounding. Lang actually created a visual representation of the transfer energies through rings that spun around the automaton, rising and falling, as well as electrical pulses that sped through the wires connecting the robot and Maria, exploding around the robot in a bright light show of a shot. Also, the transformation of the robot from a metal-plated empty body to robot Maria uses a fade, probably created by a combination of double exposure and cuts to make the transformation appear gradual and fluid. Also, even fromt he one shot of the transformed robot Maria, one can already see the difference between it and the real Maria through its eyes and smile. This is an example of the deep characterization that Lang applied to each of his major characters in the film. Also, the lighting almost seems to wash out the scene, bestowing it with an eery, surreal tone, like a dream. Metropolis' special effects are timeless, remaining brilliant even eighty-six years since it was released. WHile many films of the silent era contain basic special effects that usually detract from the viewing experience, Metropolis contains beautiful effects that remain believable even today. Also, the effects do not look outdated, and similar methods are probably used today to create transformations and show energy being transferred from one place to another. Metropolis' influence can be scene today, especially in recent science fiction, like C-3PO in Lucas' Star Wars, the robots in Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and even in films like James Cameron's Avatar, where Metropolis' influence can be seen in both the transformation between human to Na'vi and in the struggle between classes in the film with the Na'vi representing the lower class while the human colonists represented the aristocratic elite. Also, the name of the film and city presented in the film, Metropolis, were the basis for the name of Superman's home town Metropolis in DC Comic's Multiverse. This is especially evident in the 1940s Fleischer Superman cartoons, where the city of Metropolis is full of skyscapers and looks futurisitc and sometimes even dystopian. Though Metropolis was not the first story about an artificially created person causing trouble and death, it is a revolutionary film that redefined science fiction and heavily influenced everything from Star Wars to Superman.
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1991 Limited Edition Metropolis Poster by Kurt Degen from the 1990s Re-Release of Metropolis (1927)
Directed by Fritz Lang
The the scene is an extraordinary example of a reanimation sequence, Maria'stransformations in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) is not a revolution in film history or in the history of science fiction. Joh Fredersen has witnessed a rendezvous between his son Freder and the mysterious Maria. Early, the scientist, Rotwang, revealed to Fredersen that he had built a robot to take the place of Fredersen's late wife Hel. Fredersen has Rotwang follow Maria into the catacombs below the city and kidnap her. When she wakes up, she is trapped in a cage-like machine with diodes attached to her. This is where the scene starts. Rotwang activates the machine and Maria's ambiance and appearance are transferred to the automaton. The robot Maria awakens and is ready to reek havoc on the city of Metropolis. The idea of creating a new living thing, through use of a deceased organic body or an artificial robot body, is not a concept original to this film. The most famous example of a reanimated body is Frankenstein's monster from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. In this novel, Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates a monster from a cadaver he finds and reanimates. However, Frankenstein had no specific purpose for his monster, while Rotwang clearly intends to use the robot Maria to cause trouble in the city. Also, what sets Metropolis apart from similarly themed works is its state of the art special effects and its detailed shots. Within this scene, the audience gets a feel for Rotwang by seeing the interior of his laboratory and its various Telsa towers, tubes, chemical-filled beakers and flasks, and complicated machinery. Also, the special effects used during Maria's transformation are astounding. Lang actually created a visual representation of the transfer energies through rings that spun around the automaton, rising and falling, as well as electrical pulses that sped through the wires connecting the robot and Maria, exploding around the robot in a bright light show of a shot. Also, the transformation of the robot from a metal-plated empty body to robot Maria uses a fade, probably created by a combination of double exposure and cuts to make the transformation appear gradual and fluid. Also, even fromt he one shot of the transformed robot Maria, one can already see the difference between it and the real Maria through its eyes and smile. This is an example of the deep characterization that Lang applied to each of his major characters in the film. Also, the lighting almost seems to wash out the scene, bestowing it with an eery, surreal tone, like a dream. Metropolis' special effects are timeless, remaining brilliant even eighty-six years since it was released. WHile many films of the silent era contain basic special effects that usually detract from the viewing experience, Metropolis contains beautiful effects that remain believable even today. Also, the effects do not look outdated, and similar methods are probably used today to create transformations and show energy being transferred from one place to another. Metropolis' influence can be scene today, especially in recent science fiction, like C-3PO in Lucas' Star Wars, the robots in Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and even in films like James Cameron's Avatar, where Metropolis' influence can be seen in both the transformation between human to Na'vi and in the struggle between classes in the film with the Na'vi representing the lower class while the human colonists represented the aristocratic elite. Also, the name of the film and city presented in the film, Metropolis, were the basis for the name of Superman's home town Metropolis in DC Comic's Multiverse. This is especially evident in the 1940s Fleischer Superman cartoons, where the city of Metropolis is full of skyscapers and looks futurisitc and sometimes even dystopian. Though Metropolis was not the first story about an artificially created person causing trouble and death, it is a revolutionary film that redefined science fiction and heavily influenced everything from Star Wars to Superman.
Video: